The Politics of Fracking: Polarization in New York State » EcoWatch.
In September, The Earth Institute hosted Tanya Heikkila and Chris Weible of the University of Colorado Denver for a seminar on The Political Landscape of Shale Gas Development and Hydraulic Fracturing in New York. The seminar was attended by students, faculty and staff from across Columbia, and members of the local community. Professors Heikkila and Weible presented the results of their study, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, looking at fracking perceptions in three study sites: New York, Texas and Colorado. The following is an overview of the results.
Hydraulic fracturing, better known as “fracking,” is the process of injecting high-pressure water, sand and other chemicals into shale rock formations in order to extract oil and gas. Fracking has been around for some time, but only in the past several years has the issue come into the public eye. It’s a highly contentious political issue because of the high volume of water it uses, the types of chemicals used and the unknown health and environmental impacts. In fact in New York, there was a pause on gas drilling permits that utilize fracking. This has become known as the “de facto moratorium,” and has put the state in somewhat of an area of uncertainty. There have been a number of debates at the local level around fracking, the moratorium, and what should be done next.
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